Star Fox: Dark Tidings
by CO Cheddar
Summary: The Star Fox team needs to find out why so many planets are shaking apart. Rated for Violence and Thematic Elements. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1: Warning Alarm

  
AN- Hello! I don't own the Starfox series or most of the chars in here. All I own now is Luke. 

Chapter 1: Emergency Alarm

No one really knew when the Dark Matter emerged. Early peoples have reported its existence over thousands of years ago. No matter where it came from, however, the most important place in the trail of the Dark Matter was the part of the galaxy called Dinosaur Planet. 

The native Krozoa who lived in there discovered the existence of the Dark Matter after several planets began to shake apart. After experimenting on it, they found that it corrupted the cores of the planets, causing them to shatter apart. They lured it into a palace where it was trapped by their potent magic.

Throughout the years, the Krozoa passed away leaving the secret of the Dark Matter locked in the Krozoa Palace. Although many tried to obtain the Great Power, all failed, not possessing a pure heart or enough virtue to pass all of the Krozoa tests. Then, one day, something terrible happened. 

  
*******

The young scientist had been studying the strange compound he had discovered for several days. He sighed. He thought that it had potential to be a new power source when he discovered some of it near those ruins, but he realized that its secrets weren't going to be easy to crack. 

On his expedition to the Dinosaur Planet, the scientist had explored the ruins of the Krozoa, especially the Krozoa Palace. From the local folklore, he heard that a powerful substance had been sealed in the Palace. He had searched everywhere for the keys to the Palace, but to no avail. All that he found was a glob of black ooze on a marble column. He scooped it up so it could be explored back at Corneria. 

When he was about to give up, the scientist heard a voice. _Come here…_

"What?" The scientist asked. "Who are you?"   
_That is not important. _It told him. _Do you wish to discover the secrets of the substance?_

"Yes!" He replied enthusiastically. 

__

Yesssss… It hissed. _What is your name?_

"Andross." The scientist told the voice.  
_Here is what you must do, Andross…_

*******

"Good morning, Fox!"

Fox McCloud woke up to the sound of Rob's alarm clock. He groaned.   
"Thank you, Rob." He said. "Can you go steer the ship now?" 

Fox sprang from his bed, putting on his favorite yellow shirt. Then, he went into the kitchen area of the Great Fox, where his four teammates were sitting down for breakfast.   
"Morning, guys!" Fox greeted them.

"Good morning, Fox!" Peppy Hare replied. Peppy was a wise old hare in his late fifties who had flown with Fox's father James. Fox liked spending time with the old timer; he told Fox a lot of stories about his father's adventures. Peppy was too old to fly an Arwing, but he could still work on analysis.   
"Mornin', Fox!" Slippy Toad greeted his captain. Slippy was an energetic young toad in his early twenties who had a knack for mechanics. Slippy wasn't the best pilot in the world, but he got the job done. He had also been responsible for creating the Landmaster Tank and the Blue Marine sub, as well as Rob, the ship's robotic pilot.  
"Can you spare us the noise already?" Falco Lombardi snapped at Fox. Falco was a lombardi in his mid twenties who had had a wild youth. He was also rather irritable. Despite his flaws, Falco was a first rate pilot who had saved Fox's life more than he could remember. 

"Morning." Lucius Salamando murmured. Lucius was a withdrawn salamander in his mid twenties. He had arrived at Corneria one night in a battered old ship, and Fox had let him take Peppy's old spot on the team. Lucius didn't talk much, and he didn't even drive an Arwing; he drove a red, wedge-shaped fighter craft that used a gravity-powered turning apparatus. Lucius was also an incredible pilot; he rivaled even Fox in terms of skill. 

While they were eating, a red blinker light flashed on the table by them. Fox pressed a button near the base, causing a hologram of General Pepper to spring up. Pepper was a General of the Royal Cornerian Army, although he wasn't a successful one. He usually required the Star Fox team to bail him out of trouble.

"Good morning, Fox!" Pepper greeted them. 

"Good morning, General!" Fox replied. All the rest of the team members greeted him in a similar manner except for Lucius, who merely nodded.   
"Fox, we have a situation on our hands." Pepper told him. "Take a look at this star chart." At that, the hologram of Pepper was replaced by a map of the galaxy.

"What's there that you need us to see, General?" Fox asked Pepper after staring at the map for a few minutes.

"It's not what's there, Fox, but what isn't there!" Pepper corrected him. "Planet Aquas is the third planet to shatter apart this month! We need you to find out what's causing these planets to be destroyed and stop it from happening to other planets!"   
"We're on it, General!" Fox yelled. He and his wingmen all hopped into their Arwings except for Lucius.   
"Could it be…?" Lucius mumbled. Shrugging his shoulders, he strode over to his ship and took off. 


	2. Chapter 2: The Darkest Sky

AN- The only character I own so far is Lucius. Now lets get on with the story, shall we?

Chapter 2: The Darkest Sky

James McCloud was worried about Andross. His friend hadn't been outside of his laboratory in about a week now, and he seemed to have changed a lot. James knocked on the door gently. 

"Who are you?" A loud voice yelled.

"James." He answered, surprised at Andross's hostile response. "Can I come in?" 

"No." He said quickly. 

"Are you sure?" He asked. "If something has been bothering you…" 

"Leave me alone!" He roared. James hurried away quickly after this outburst. He still didn't know what was troubling his friend, but he didn't want to hang around Andross in his mood. 

The inside of Andross's laboratory was a mess. Broken flasks lay everywhere, and scraps of metal littered the area. Strange schematics lined the floor of the room, designed in Andross's recent mood. But the strangest thing in the room was Andross himself. He had become haggard and worn from his nonstop work, and gray blotches of sleep covered his eyes from a lack of rest. Despite the sleep he had missed, Andross was working more feverishly than ever to build things from the Dark Matter that had become his life. 

_Has he gone yet?_ The Dark Matter asked him.

"Yes." Andross said, gazing lovingly at the black ooze in his culture environment. It had multiplied into other Dark Matters, all of whom promised to help Andross gain control of Corneria. 

__

After all, you can rule better than the Royal Family! It had told him. _Remember, all you have to do is destroy the Krozoa Palace afterwards…_

The Dark Matter had convinced Andross. He walked over to where his greatest weapon lay and activated it.

*******

"Alright, guys! We're here!" 

After several hours, the Star Fox team had finally arrived in the Asteroid Field. Fox was surprised; he had expected to see something else in there except space. There were no cargo ships, military vessels, luxury freighters… heck, even a bogey would be a welcome sight to Fox. There weren't even very many asteroids there. 

"I have a bad feeling about this." Fox told his wingmen.

"You're right about that, Fox." Falco replied. "I just wish there was _something_ out here except us!"

In his ship, Lucius sighed. "If what I think what's happening is happening, there will be something else out here soon enough…" 

Fox didn't have time to reflect on these words, as he was thinking about General Pepper's orders.

"Fortunata has been showing signs of decay, Fox. Fortunata is a vital military point for the Cornerian Royal Army, so we need you to check it out and see what has been decaying all of these planets. Also, we need to find a way to stop this from happening. Can you do it, Fox?"

Fox had been eager to help at first, but he felt nervous about his assignment now. How could you save a dying planet? He was lodged out of these thoughts by an emergency signal from Peppy.

"Fox!" Peppy exclaimed. "There's some kind of life form coming towards us!" 

"Life form? What is it, Peppy?" Fox asked.

"I don't know." Peppy told him. "I'm just getting some strange readings on my scanner…"

Before Peppy could finish his sentence, something attacked Fox from out of nowhere. Fox yelled as his Arwing was hit by a strange black ball of ooze. He yelled as it started to dissolve the wing that it had hit. Suddenly, a laser hit the ooze, causing it to fly off of the Arwing. 

"Lucius!" Fox yelled. "That was really dangerous! What if you had missed?" 

His voice was deadly calm. "I would never miss that."

Before Fox could comprehend these words, more of the balls struck the Arwings. Falco's ship was struck by three, all of which were dislodged with a strategic Barrel Roll. Slippy's Arwing was also struck several times.

"Fox!" Slippy yelled. "Help me out here!" Fox heard his cry for help and struck all of the strange things with his lasers. "Thanks, Fox!" Slippy said in gratitude.

Lucius was also having a tough time. It took all of his skill to keep the ooze from hitting his craft. He Rolled everywhere in an attempt to shake them off. Finally, before he was overtaken, Falco arrived to blast them all away. 

"There you are," he said, "I got those things off your back!"

"Thank you." Lucius replied simply.

"Well, that should…" Fox was stopped from finishing his speech by the arrival of more particles of ooze. "Rob!" Fox yelled. "Use the Great Fox's Plasma Cannon!" 

"Affirmative." Rob said pressing the fire button. A green burst of Plasma erupted from the Great Fox's blasters, heading straight for the approaching particles. In the blink of an eye they were all incinerated. All that was left of them was a shower of black dust that fell through the air. 

"Alright, guys!" Fox said. "Let's go back to the Great Fox!" 

*******

Inside the Great Fox, Rob looked at the ships. They had all been damaged badly by the ooze, but Slippy's Arwing took the worst pounding. A hole had been burned right through one of the wings. Fox, Falco and Lucius' ships didn't fare much better; the ooze had short circuited some of their guiding functions, making them unsafe to fly in for a few days. 

"Fox," Peppy said, "there's some of that stuff on Slippy's Arwing!" Peppy was right; some of the ooze had stuck onto Slippy's ship, threatening to do more damage. Peppy scooped it up in a glass container. 

"I'm going over to the lab to study this stuff." He said, walking out of the room. "I need to find out just what it is."

After Peppy left the room, Fox turned to Lucius, who was deep in thought. The salamander's face was grim, and his brown eyes seemed troubled.

"What's wrong, Lucius?" Fox asked.

"What?" Lucius replied, snapping back into reality. "It's nothing. Nothing at all." 

Before Fox could ask him anymore questions, Rob's voice blurted out over the ship's intercom.

"We are approaching Planet Fortunata at this moment." 

When Fox got his first glimpse of the planet, he gasped. It was covered with the black substance he had seen earlier, a hole burnt into the core of the planet. "There we are, boys." Fox told his crew. "Now our mission begins." 


	3. Chapter 3: The Battle Begins

AN- Hello! I only own Lucius in here. Now, onto the story!

Chapter 3: The First Battle

In the sickbay of the Great Fox, Peppy was studying the ooze with interest. He had performed several chemical tests on it, trying to determine what it was exactly. He had found that it was alive, but scientifically it couldn't be alive… 

"Hey Slippy!" Peppy called. "Come over here! I have something to show you!" 

"Hold on, Peppy!" He yelled. "I'll be there in a second! I'm just working on some modifications to the Great Fox!" 

"But this is important, Slip!" Peppy replied. "This is about the ooze we found!" 

Grumbling, Slippy walked into the room. "Alright, Peppy, what was so important that it couldn't wait?" He asked, clearly agitated.

"It's the ooze, Slip!" Peppy told him. "Did you know that this stuff has its own DNA, but it doesn't have any vital organs, like a heart, lungs, a brain, or anything else?" Slippy stared at him blankly. "It's alive, but it shouldn't be."

Slippy shuddered for some reason. "That's kind of creepy. Is there anything else?"

"Yes. Remember how the ooze on your Arwing was only a small glob?" Slippy nodded. "Take a look at this!" 

Slippy gasped as Peppy showed him the ooze. What used to be a small glob of ooze had grown to fill up the container Peppy had kept it in. 

"This is strange." Slippy muttered. "What is this stuff?"

"I don't know, exactly." Peppy told his friend. "I do know that it doesn't like heat very much. And I also know that this stuff is corrosive. I'm going to put it in a bigger container." As Peppy went to put the ooze in a new container, he thought he heard a soft chuckle.

"What's so funny, Slip?" He asked his friend.

"What do you mean?" Slippy asked quizzically. "I wasn't laughing." 

Although Peppy went back to work, he heard the sound again after he put the ooze up, only it had become mocking laughter. "Alright, Slip, what's so funny?

"Nothing!" Slippy said defensively. "Look, lets go. This room is creeping me out."

Peppy nodded in agreement. They left the room to escape the laughter of the Dark Matter.

*******

Fox looked sadly at the planet of Fortunata. What had once been a beautiful, snowy planet had become a wasteland with the ooze flowing all over the landscape. 

"Alright, guys. I'm going to take the Landmaster and go into the core to see what's the matter. I'm pretty sure that stuff has done something to the core of the planet. Falco, you go to the planet with me in the other Landmaster. Lucius, I need you to provide air cover. Rob, blast a hole in the ooze for us!"

"Affirmative!" Rob said. At that, the robot fired the Great Fox's lasers at a pile of ooze nearby. It flew into the air, propelled by the force of the laser. As Fox and his friends were about to leave, Peppy and Slippy ran into the room.

"Fox!" Peppy yelled. "Fox, I have something to tell you! That ooze, it's not very fond of heat!" 

"Heat?" Fox said, getting into his Landmaster tank. "Alright, I'll remember that! See you guys later!" At that, Fox drove out of the Great Fox in his Landmaster, leaving Peppy to wonder if his leader heard what he said.

"Just like his father…" Peppy muttered. 

*******

The trip into the planet's core took a long time because of the thick ooze. It took a while to blast a path through it, and the little of it that Fox couldn't blast away stuck to his tires. 

"How much longer, Fox?" Falco asked. "I don't want to be driving through here all day!" 

"The crater's right over there, Falco." Fox told his friend. The crater led straight to the bottom of the planet, to a place few people would ever see; the planet's core. The crater was covered with the black ooze, and no light emerged from it. A strange humming noise could be heard throughout the crater that they went through. When Fox was beginning to think that the crater would never end, he finally saw the core.

__

Welcome to your doom, Fox McCloud A voice said, laughing at him. Fox gasped. The core appeared to be a sphere of the black ooze. The humming increased as the core began to retract and dim. 

"That ooze is absorbing the core!" Fox yelled. "We gotta get rid of it!" Saying this, they fired their lasers at the ooze-covered core. 

__

You fools! It laughed as the lasers bounced off of it. _I'm too powerful for your pathetic weaponry to harm me! _Saying this, globs of the ooze ruptured from the core at Fox and Falco. Although they destroyed some of them, they were still hit by much of the barrage.

"Warning!" A voice from Fox's Landmaster said. "Energy shield damaged!" 

"Wait!" Fox yelled. "What did Peppy say?" 

"He said that stuff didn't like… Heat!" Falco yelled. "That's it, Fox!" 

"Alright," Fox yelled, "charge up your plasma cannons!" At that, they began to charge a burst of plasma from their cannons. The emission of the Plasma caused some of the ooze to crawl away.

__

You… You can't win! The ooze yelled, shooting more spheres of ooze at them. Their plasma cannons destroyed all of the projectiles as well as clearing more of the stuff from the core. Finally, the ooze had all vanished. 

__

Nooooo…The ooze moaned. _How did you…_

Suddenly, a tremor ripped through the planet. "We have to get out of here, Falco!" Fox yelled. As the tremors continued, Fox and Falco boosted out of the crater as fast as their Landmasters could carry them. As they finally exited the core, an explosion rocked the planet, incinerating all of the ooze in its path. Fox watched as the ooze disappeared before his very eyes. 
    "Let's go back to the Great Fox, Falco." Fox told his friend. "I think we need to talk to the General." 
    
*******
    
"Good job, Fox!" Pepper told him from a hologram. "You've saved the planet from total destruction. Even though the ooze has stripped Fortunata of life, it will heal itself in time."
    
"General," Fox asked Pepper, "what is that stuff?" 
    
"I don't know, Fox." Pepper said stroking his chin. "If I understand this right, I think that ooze is a danger to the entire galaxy. You have a new order, Fox. You must destroy that ooze wherever it is found! You must save the galaxy! Pepper out." 
After Pepper had disappeared, a voice emerged. "The General is right. It is a danger to everything. I would know." 
  
Fox turned towards Lucius. "Lucius, I think you know something about this ooze. Tell me what you know about it." 
  
"Alright, Fox." Lucius sighed. "I'll tell you." 


	4. Chapter 4: The Truth Emerges

AN- Lucius is the only character I own. Also, this chapter is the darkest one so far, so don't read it if that's not your thing. 

Chapter 4: The Truth Emerges

It was a beautiful day on planet Scion. The native Salamands on the planet enjoyed the bright sunlight that illuminated the sky, going about their business, playing or just being lazy. There were a few, however, who didn't share the carefree attitude of their people. Several members of the Scionian Defense Force were being briefed by their commander. 

"Alright, we've all heard the rumors." He told his men. "Dark Matter incidents have spread throughout this quadrant. The closest planet to us, Gariola, has been mysteriously destroyed, so it's a matter of time before the Matter, if that's what it is, pokes its ugly face around our home."

"Sir," one cadet asked, "what do we do to repel it if it comes?"

"Ready the Force, Lucius." He told the soldier. "All men to their fighters! Now!"

At that the soldiers of the SDF prepared for an invasion of their home by Dark Matter. They didn't have to wait long. The first group of Matter came around midday, spreading like Wildfire through the Salamands' capital city. They arrived in groups, in forms that the Salamands called Seekers and Dreadnoughts. The Dreadnoughts were gigantic, four legged creatures made of the Matter that bored holes in the planet, trying to reach and corrupt the core. The Defenders always made it a priority to destroy the Dreadnoughts first, because they knew what happened if they breached the core. 

The Seekers were almost as feared as the Dreadnoughts. They were sleek, bird like creatures that attacked in groups, tearing their targets apart with electric forces. Some of them protected the Dreadnoughts, some went after Defenders at random, but all of them tried to cause as mush destruction as they could. They attacked anything that moved, not caring if the target was a threat or not.

Although the Salamands defended their planet well, the sheer numbers of the Dark Matter force overwhelmed them. The end came when a Dreadnought finally breached the core of the planet, oozing itself into it. At that point, severe tremors shocked the planet. The sky began to darken as in preparation of what would happen. 

"It's all over…" The commander of the SDF said, feeling terrible for his inability to defend his planet. "Everyone, into the transports!" At those words, Salamands swarmed into the transport vessels so they could have a chance to escape their planet. The transports had just left the atmosphere when several explosions rocked the planet. In a few hours, planet Scion was no more. 

As the refugees fled from their destroyed homeland, the Seekers followed. No matter how good the pilots were, their ships were all targeted by bands of Seekers. Lucius watched in horror as several transports were torn apart by the cruel Seekers. 

"Lucius, watch out!" His commander yelled. Lucius barely dodged in time to avoid the Seekers that threw themselves at his ship. His commander then did a brave thing. Halting his own progress, he fought off all the Seekers he could to buy his men time. Soon, however, he was overcome. He didn't cry out as his ship was torn apart by Seekers; that was the most unsettling part of it for Lucius. 

Soon, the young pilot was set upon by more Seekers. He dodged as well as he could, but they stuck to his ship. He winced as the first shock struck his fighter, and the second one incapacitated his engine. He braced himself for the landing and death as his ship hurtled towards the nearest planet. 

*******

The Star Fox Team sat in stunned silence as Lucius told them his story. Pausing to wipe the tears from his eyes, Lucius continued in a shaky voice.

"Fortunately, my ship was picked up by a Cargo Freighter and sent to Corneria. I joined your team in the hopes that I would meet the Dark Matter again to avenge myself." He sobbed, hardly able to speak. "It took everything from me; my home, my family, my friends… my life. I…" At that point Lucius broke down, letting the memories flow through his head. "I miss them so much…"

Fox tried his best to comfort his friend. "I know how it feels to lose someone you love, too. My father, James, was killed by a mad scientist named Andross long ago. I still have trouble accepting that he's gone…" 

Before Fox could finish this statement, however, General Pepper appeared to him via hologram. "Fox, this is urgent! Planet Katina is being attacked by the ooze…"

"Dark Matter." Fox corrected him.

Pepper looked at Fox sternly before going on. "… and we need you to give them a hand. We can't lose any more planets to the ooz… I mean, Dark Matter!"

"Affirmative, General!" Fox saluted him as he faded from view. "Well, boys, time to save Katina. Are you ready, Lucius." 

Lucius nodded, his eyes glinting coldly. "I've been ready for too long."

*******

Bill Grey, one of the Cornerian Army's officials on Katina, was having a terrible time defending the planet. He watched several of his wingmen's ships get torn asunder by the ooze, and his weapons didn't seem to have much effect on them. He was about to give up and retreat when he saw the familiar figure of the Great Fox in the sky. 

"Fox is here!" Bill cheered. "Fox! Do you hear me?"

"I hear you, Bill!" Fox replied as he flew out of the Great Fox's hanger. "What seems to be the problem?"

Bill sighed. "We can't do any kind of damage to these things! My wingmen are dropping like flies and they aren't even dented!" 

"Use heat, Bill!" Falco replied, arriving from nowhere to torch a Seeker. "That's how you do it!" 

Fox, and Falco devoted their time to destroying Seekers while Bill, Slippy and their wingmen took out the Dreadnoughts. Up in the skies above Katina, Lucius was scattering the Seekers like a pack of wolves. His ferocity was too much for the Dark Matter based Seekers, who fled to find another, easier to kill target. Suddenly, Lucius noticed that three Seekers were right on his tail. He swerved to the left just in time to avoid a deadly electric charge, and was relieved of his pursuers by Fox and Falco, who helped to take care of them.

On the ground, Bill and Slippy were finding themselves overwhelmed with Dreadnoughts. Whenever they destroyed one, several Seekers merged together to form a new one. 

"Fox!" Bill called to him. "We can't hold out for too much longer!"

From where he was in the sky, Fox could barely see a ball of Dark Matter away from the others. This one produced new Matter, so Fox decided that it was a leader of some sort. "Bill," Fox told his friend, "I'm going after the big guy!"

*******

Fox's second look at the ball of Dark Matter was that of a hideous, medusa like creature. Its face was surrounded by a network of tentacles that covered its black eyes. It felt surprised to see Fox, but recovered from its initial shock.

Well, Fox, I see you wish to destroy me. It said. But it is I who will crush you! You will fall just like your father before you… "What do you mean?" Fox yelled. The creature laughed at him. Fool… it was Dark Matter like me that empowered Andross, allowing him to do what he did. Do you hate me now, Fox McCloud? Do you hate me for what I did to your father? If so, Fox McCloud, strike me down if you can! The blood in Fox's veins boiled. He yelled as he charged at the thing before him, saturating it with lasers. It laughed at him, thrashing his ship with its tentacles. This time Fox yelled in pain, trying to adjust himself to the controls of his Arwing as the Dark Matter grabbed his ship in its tentacles. And now you die! It hissed, crushing Fox tighter and tighter. Fox felt breathless as it continued its assault on his ship, laughing all the while. Suddenly, Fox blasted one of its eyes with a plasma blast. It roared in pain as the eye burst, blindly thrashing at its tormentor. Fox dodged them all, destroying the creatures other eye. The fury of Fox's attacks took its toll on the creature as it thrashed one more time at Fox's ship. Weakened as it was, Fox's ship allowed the Dark Matter in to enter Fox's body. Having done this, the gigantic medusa of Dark Matter fell to the planet in a rapidly decaying ball. With the loss of their leader, the Seekers and Dreadnoughts fled as fast as they could, with Bill's forces hot on their tails. Not a single Dreadnought escaped, and few Seekers were around after that to destroy any more planets. Bill let out a cheer. "We did it!" He yelled. "And we owe everything to Fox!" Fox didn't answer. "Fox? Where are you?" Bill asked, searching for his friend. He finally found his friend's downed Arwing next to the dead leader of the Dark Matter. "Bill…" he moaned, walking out of the Arwing in a labored manor. "Please help me!" At that, Fox passed out. "All doctors, come quick!" Bill yelled. "Fox is injured! Help him!" At that, several doctors, including Peppy, rushed him into the Great Fox's sickbay for medical treatment. 


	5. Chapter 5: The Destination Revealed

AN- That's right, I'm writing this story again. Why have I put it on hold so much, you ask? It's called school, friend. Here it is… 

Chapter 5: The Destination Revealed

"All units, fall in!"

James McCloud wasn't in a great mood. He, Peppy Hare and Pigma Dengar were being sent by the Cornerian Royal Army to investigate activity on Venom. Andross had been exiled there three years ago, and had lain dormant until now…

"What should we do, James?" Peppy asked him. 

"Do?" James mused. "Oh, yes. I'm going to lead. You cover my sides and Pigma supports us if things get too dicey. Got that, guys?"

"Yeah…" Pigma mumbled. He had been hearing a voice all day. 

__

Pigma, it told him, _you know who I am, don't you?_

"Andross?" Pigma asked. "Is that…" 

__

Yes, Pigma. Andross told him. _Have you thought of my offer?_

"A little." Pigma frowned. "What do I have to do?" 

Just leave James unprotected, that's all. Andross told him. You don't have to get your hands dirty. 

Pigma sighed in relief. "That's good. What should I do now?" 

Tell him that I have been sighted between that pass. Andross said, directing his attention to a rocky canyon. My troops will be waiting. 

"James!" Pigma said, going along with the plan. "Andross has been sighted by the canyon!"

"Andross?" James asked. "I'm on my way!" He and Peppy flew straight into Andross' trap, leaving Pigma alone with his guilt.

*******

"Father…" Fox yelled. "Don't leave me!"

Peppy furrowed his brow. "This is bad." He said. "I think Fox is in some kind of coma right now." 

"Will he be alright?" Bill asked, concern on his face. He had only just been reunited with his friend and didn't want to lose him.

"Don't worry, Bill!" Falco said reassuringly. "Fox has survived worse than this! He'll be okay!"

Peppy ignored his friends, instead focusing on the task at hand. The Dark Matter had embedded itself deeply into Fox's heart. He had to concentrate on removing it without killing Fox. He touched the Matter with a heated scalpel, trying to drive it out of his friend. It squirmed a little, but didn't move much. 

"I need help here!" Peppy yelled. "Bring me a heating pad, Slip!" 

Shortly after he said this, Slippy ran into the room with a heating pad. He placed on Fox's heart, and joined Peppy in the operation. The Matter squirmed for a little while, and then finally began to retract itself from Fox's heart. Peppy stared hopefully at the monitor that showed Fox's vital signs, noticing that they had increased. 

"Slip!" He yelled. "Bring me more pads! The Matter's leavin' Fox!" Slippy rushed into the other room as fast as he could to heat up another pad. Peppy began to poke the Matter more now that the danger to Fox was gone. Slowly, the Matter began to ooze out of Fox's body and into a container that Peppy had prepared to hold it. 

"Yes!" Peppy yelled, pleased by the vital signs he saw. "We saved Fox! Slip, burn this Matter, okay?" 

"Slip this, Slip that…" Slippy said, grumbling as he took the matter away. "Can't I have a little break once in a while?"

*******

"What… what's going on?" Fox murmured, opening his eyes.

"Fox!" Peppy yelled. "You're alive! We were worried about you, Fox! You've been asleep for two days!"

"Two…" Fox muttered. "Peppy, can I talk to you for a little while? Alone?"

Peppy nodded at seeing the look in Fox's eyes. "Everybody leave! I need to talk with Fox!" 

"Peppy," Fox said, "have you ever lost anyone that you loved?" 

"Fox," Peppy said, knowing that Fox wanted to talk about his father, "you have to let it go. James was my friend as well. You need to let go and find peace."

Fox paused before going on. "Peppy, I've… I've never told anyone this before. Do you remember when we went to Venom to stop Andross? How the shaft leading to his lair exploded after I defeated him? When I fled the shaft, I was guided by… father." 

Peppy stared at him, unable to say anything. Fox went on. "When I was asleep, I saw him again. I saw Andross crushing his Arwing… he laughed so evilly. I heard his last words to you…"

Peppy sobbed, repeating his last words. "'Tell Fox that I love him.' That was the last thing James ever said."

"Then, I heard his voice. He told me that the evil was lurking on Venom, waiting for me." His eyes grew hard as he rose from his bed. "Peppy, it was the Matter that killed him. It corrupted Andross and gave him the strength to kill father! I'm going to Venom to destroy it and end its threat to the galaxy one and for all!" 

"You can't get up now, Fox!" Peppy protested. "You're too weak!" 

"I don't care." Fox said. "I'm going to my Arwing now. And I'm going to destroy it all!"

Peppy sighed, knowing that further argument was hopeless. "James would have done the same thing too."

*******

It was several hours before the Star Fox Team reached Sector Z. Fox looked around nervously from the window of his Arwing. The last time he had been in Sector Z, Fox found it to be a galactic scrapheap, a jumble of blasted metal and pieces of cargo from destroyed ships. Now it was like Meteo; nothing at all inhabited the Sector; nothing, that is, except Dark Matter.

"Everyone, keep your eyes peeled!" Fox said. "We could be attacked by Dark Matter at any moment!" 

"I copy, Fox!" Bill told him. Although not a member of the Star Fox Team, Bill was eager to help his friend. He also knew what the Dark Matter could do, and would stop at nothing to destroy it. 

Suddenly, a warning came from the Great Fox. "Fox, watch out! Seekers are coming from behind us!" Before anyone could respond, Seekers had arrived, carrying spheres of Dark Matter. Fox, Lucius, Falco and Bill were immediately after them, destroying several Seekers. But they couldn't get them all. The remaining Seekers released the Dark Matter they held, and it collided into the Great Fox. Peppy and Slippy yelled as the ship took damage, trying to fire the ship's plasma cannons at the Seekers that survived. They didn't notice the crack that appeared in the container where Peppy kept the Dark Matter.

"Stop the Seekers!" Fox yelled. "We have to protect the ship!" Lucius darted after the Seekers before Fox could finish, blasting everything he could find. Falco and Bill threw themselves at the Seekers that were preparing more Dark Matter spheres, destroying all of them before they could unload them. Fox decided to help Lucius, consumed with rage. He would crush them for killing his father! 

Eventually, the Seekers all fell. Fox sent a transmission to the Great Fox. "Peppy, everything okay?" 

"We're alright, Fox." Peppy replied. "We're just…" The transmission suddenly cut off. 

"Peppy, what's wrong?" Fox asked. He received no answer. "Peppy! Speak to me!" He yelled. He was greeted by static at the other end. 

"Leave everything to me, Fox!" Bill told him, heading for the Great Fox. 

"Be careful, Bill!" Fox said. 

"Fox, what should we do now?" Falco asked him. 

He paused before answering. "We're going to go on to Venom." He told Falco. "Bill will see what's wrong with the Great Fox and get back with us later." Having said this, Fox and his friends put on their Boosters and headed into the Venom Air Defense Zone; Area 6.


End file.
